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Cemetery and Funeral Bureau Holds Roundtable Discussion on Impact of Drought on Cemeteries

by • June 11, 2015

The Department of Consumer Affairs’ Cemetery and Funeral Bureau on Wednesday hosted a roundtable discussion to discuss the impact of the California drought on cemeteries and to brainstorm ideas for coping with water use reductions.

“Everyone needs to do their part to save water during the drought,” said Lisa Moore, Chief of the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau. “We want to help our licensed cemeteries achieve a balance between their responsibilities to reduce water use while being sensitive to families who have loved ones interred in those cemeteries.”

The Bureau invited all licensed cemeteries to participate in the roundtable and addressed issues facing cemeteries in the current drought. In addition to discussing the issues cemeteries face because of the drought, solutions and alternatives were explored to help cemeteries adapt. Some of the topics discussed in the meeting were:

Best practices at cemeteries for effectively implementing water restrictions

Water efficiency measures currently in use by cemeteries

Conformance with State/Local watering restrictions

Potential impacts on business

Informing consumers about water restrictions

The Bureau will solicit additional input through the end of this month and then create a consumer information fact sheet to educate consumers about the California drought and the water restrictions under which cemeteries must operate. That fact sheet will be available on the Bureau’s web site.

The Cemetery and Funeral Bureau licenses and regulates cemeteries, with the exception of cemeteries operated by religious organizations, cities, counties, cemetery districts, the military and Native American tribal organizations.

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The Department of Consumer Affairs promotes and protects the interests of California Consumers. Consumers can file complaints against licensees by contacting the Department of Consumer Affairs at (800) 952-5210 or www.dca.ca.gov.